Q&A with NorwichFanRob

pokergenius.com

Rob we all want to know about the K 4 hand in the IPC

Norwich Fan Rob

Killme00 wrote:

When did you start playing poker? What level did you start at?

just over 2.5 years ago, 1/2 nl cash and $50 stts

Do you play live cash games?

almost never

What is your opinion on the current status of poker in this country?

getting better

What is your favourite live poker event?

the big ones

Norwich Fan Rob

hi phil, i take it this is you, hows the form

Hammertime wrote:

Hi Rob

Great read, thanks for doing this.

I've two questions,

1.) Why do you get so much enjoyment out of watching other players in events, I seen it when you got busted in Drogheda and you hung around for ages still very much into the vibe around the event, also I was standing with you behind Dave Masters in Singapore on the final table of the $500 event, I know your good mates but you still seem to get as much out of someone else winning as yourself, is it just a general love of poker?

i know a lot of people in irish poker now, and some of them really deserve a big result, ive love to see some of the good guys out there take down something big.
As for singapore, i was dissapointed to go out in 14th in that event, but i had 10% of dave, and really wanted him to take that down, as u could see, would been a huge boost to him to have won that one, and he played a great final table.


2.) Would you feel its normal behaviour to leave a pub at 7am to take a 20 min taxi ride to find a McDonalds for breakfast and then go back to the pub?

absolutely, mcdonalds tastes better first thing in the morning after no sleep

Norwich Fan Rob

Mr. Flibble wrote:

How long can you play (online) before you feel you cannot concentrate fully any more?

varies, sometimes ive played 7-8 hours straight, in a big multi, or even a cash game, in my new higher stakes cash game, i prefer concentrated sessions of 1 hours and then chill for a while.

Do you drop down to lower levels and multitable ever? Do you think you could beat smaller games, 3/6 say, playing 4-5 tables at a time, or do you feel your game relies on reads too much for multitabling to be profitable?

may 2 table, rarely any more, struggle to 4 table, i think 1 table at a higher stake suits my game better than 3 or 4 at a lower one.


If you won 20Mil in the euro lotto would you buy into the 20/40 game for 8k or would you play a different game or would you give up online cash games?

yeah , probably would buy in for 8k, might play a bit looser, wouldnt care as much, but am very competitive, and would still like to win, i think if i had endless money i would mainly play big buy in tourneys in exotic locations.

Have you ever lost a large amount of money due to a misclick or connection problem or other technological error?

yes, close to a grand a couple of times, due to dq issues, got 2nd broadband now, should help, never had a major misclick.

If you were walking home one night alone on a dark street and you saw a briefcase laying on the ground, picked it up and found that it was full of 100 euro notes (2 Mil total) what would you do?

look around a lot, grab it, and try and get somewhere safe asap.

Do you believe the world is fully deterministic or can we make choices?

we can make choices

Should I concentrate more on my finals tomorrow or on thinking of questions to ask you?

probably, gl in them.

Norwich Fan Rob

empirix wrote:

Rob very interesting indeed and giving me a lot to think about. The main thing i want to ask is how do you find the standard of play on 10/20 - i take it, its pretty good and for example your less likely of getting hit by a maniac with pocket 4's who hits his set on the river even though you have put in decent raises to get him off the hand? I am convinced personally i would do a lot better if i moved up to 5/10 (not doing too bad on the lower stakes but some of the hits can be quite disheartening!!)

at the highest levels u get more good players, but u also get your fair share of rich lunatics, once u are careful with these guys, u will get paid,

5/10 is tough, u wont find 10/20 hugely tougher i would say.

i would say 5/10 is a bit tougher than 3/6, more guys at 3/6 have very bad fundamentals.

willietherock

Rob,
you mention the importance of player notes alot. I multittable $20/25 stts
What sort of things do you look for when making notes on players?

nicnicnic

Hey Rob great read, just a couple

Do you feel your game developed naturally or that you developed your game through study and analysis (i suppose the Q is do you feel you have a natural ability that makes you the winner you are or is your game manufactured).

the transition from stts to cash, how hard was it and what pitfalls should someone be aware of

In your time playing did you notice a period where your game was changing i.e getting tighter-looser unintentionally, I read a few big players talking of there game going in cycles loose/tight tight/loose finding an equilibrium for a period and then the process starting again. Just wondering what you think of this theory.

Norwich Fan Rob

bops wrote:

Hiya Robbie! How's it goin??

Congrats in WSOP 'n all and for your good run @ 20/40

I think we used to play lots of 100 & 200$ STTs together. Did you have a healthy ROI at 'em and just got bored knowing Cash was more profitable timewise?

one of the best on sharkscope, a lot of the main ones i used to play kinda died when betfair left crypto to an extent, and i was drawn to the cash, and its my profession now, the more i can make as fast as possible the better.

I have a keen interest in 20/40 on Tribecca and am currenty rebuilding my BR to give it another shot up there. (had tilt issues :mad: )...anyways lots of questions:

gl with that, look forward to seeing u there

What's your opinions on (one word answers will suffice): (from my limited time on these tables)
Clubber/Boycie? good
SOXY? tight/solid
letsgamble? i hear hes good, i destroyed him the other day
SEATibizaTD? too lose short handed
Allias? i like playing him heads up
Sealey (haven't seen him lately)? havent played
Tommyboy? havent played

Do you fear/enjoy playing Boycie when he is in one of his humours??

dunno

Do you worry about collusion @ 20/40? if so how do you combat it?

no, not really

How do you deal with TAG shortstacks?

let them steal the odd blind, dont really have a specific plan for them, depends what i get.

How do you deal with LAG Deepstacks?

trap them and take their stakes, check/call them a lot

Do you notice a massive difference in play between the 10/20 and 20/40 games on Tribeacca?

no

All going to plan I'll see you on the tables in a few weeks (soft money )

Keep up the good work
Thanking you in advance

Bops

Norwich Fan Rob

MacStacked wrote:

Thanks alot for taking the time to do this it is a great read..(as were all the others..)

Any pros who stand out from the crowd as truly exceptional players? and why?

esfandiari, seems top notch to me, cunningham, same, also a guy called kevin o donnell

You jumped it at 1/2 and played like a fish for a couple of months..looking back do you think you would have been as well to just start at 50/1 or .25/.50 build up a roll and your ability at the one time?

yes, probably, played at first for the buzz, not really to learn and get good as such, never realised there was so much to it, didnt mind small loses, was amazed what i found when i started to delve deeper.

Best of luck in 2007..

thanks

Norwich Fan Rob

HiCloy wrote:

Hi,

I'm a bit surprised you don't use PT as I thought it was in use across the board at that kind of level. Instead, what sort of notes to you keep? Detailed, say about betting patterns preflop, or just leaks in game? Have you a template for notes?

Thanks

your right, i should, im not that long at the cash full time, but thats no excuse, im a lazy ****er really...........im lucky to have a good memory, i mainly use that, i note how people play there draws, if they bluff more than once, what types of stuff they re raise with pre flop, that kinda stuff.
some poor players, i literally just label FISH, or calling station, or plays any 2 etc.

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

Norwich Fan Rob

pokergenius.com wrote:

Rob we all want to know about the K 4 hand in the IPC

basically it went as follows (and its the first time ive put KK down pre flop and not being correct, the 2nd time ive ever done it)

i had 28k and was comfy on the table, avg was about 14k at the time, i was in grand shape.
english dude who seemed to be playing fairly abc min raised under the gun to 600, i did think this strange, he looked kinda sheepish, then poor player called in mid pos, he can have almost any 2, folded to me on the BB, i havent raised many hands pre flop, mainly cause i hadnt had many hands, but this time i had KK, so i announced re raise, and made it 2700 i think it was to go........english guy thinks, looks like he is going to fold, then stacks a few chips, plays with them for ages, and then says, 7k to go....other guy folds, and i think to myself, hmmmmmmm, would be even do that with QQ, no way he has AK in my opinion, i really didnt like the spot, i had no need to go broke here on a low flop, and a push would only be called by AA most likely. I had only put 2.7k in the pot , i could fold and still had 25k and be more of less in control of the table, thats what i decided to do, i was amazed when he tabled the K4.

Norwich Fan Rob

willietherock wrote:

Rob,
you mention the importance of player notes alot. I multittable $20/25 stts
What sort of things do you look for when making notes on players?

a lot of my notes consist of words like muppet, donkey etc.......for most bad players i just keep it simple, and then seek them out , for the better players i note what they raise with, betting patterns, what they re raise with, that kinda thing......a lot of players are too loose early on in STTs and too tight late on.

JoeyJJ

Great Read Rob....

Apart from the Financial rewards of becoming a famous poker player (as would would have taken down some serious tournaments) would you like the recognition the some of the top players get from Joe Public or would you like to keep your anaminity from Joe Public? In other words, Would you like to become a household name in the poker world?

Norwich Fan Rob

morning nicky

nicnicnic wrote:

Hey Rob great read, just a couple

Do you feel your game developed naturally or that you developed your game through study and analysis (i suppose the Q is do you feel you have a natural ability that makes you the winner you are or is your game manufactured).

a lot of it came naturally through experiences gained on the tables
i believe i have reasonable instincts and i would defo have better mathemathical analysis than most people
however, i have also learned a good bit from various readings

the transition from stts to cash, how hard was it and what pitfalls should someone be aware of

it is hard, i used to get myself stacked with big pairs too much in cash games, i dont anymore, in tourneys its almost more acceptable to have this happen, as u are almost never as deep.
its very important in cash games not to over play marginals, and remember, sets are golden.


In your time playing did you notice a period where your game was changing i.e getting tighter-looser unintentionally, I read a few big players talking of there game going in cycles loose/tight tight/loose finding an equilibrium for a period and then the process starting again. Just wondering what you think of this theory.

i have had the odd period where i just feel out of sink, and feel like im not thinking like i should do, this game will frustrate anyone at times, and in some cases, u can over think decisions, its best to play as naturally as possible.
i guess thats what happens here, people get too caught up in new theories and second guess there first instincts for a while.

Norwich Fan Rob

LuckyLloyd wrote:

Fair play Rob - cracking read.

I would just like to know what type of achievments within poker would fill you with the greater satisfaction:

- Running well in cash games, building an ever bigger bankroll and moving up to dominate the highest levels?

- Get to the final tables and challenge for a title at major international events: EPT, Irish Open, WPT, WSOP?


If only one was possible - which would you choose?

My apologies if this has already been asked (lot of questions !!)


alright mate, interesting question.
cash games are my bread and butter, the grind i need to do (and thankfully enjoy) to give me the roll to take a shot at the big tourneys, where the variance would be huge (ie u can play well for a few days and get your money back or lose 10k), but obv winnign one of these would be lifechanging.

I want my cash game to develop to support me to able to pick and chose from the top big live games, my ultimate goal would be to win one of these.

Lloyd.

Norwich Fan Rob

JoeyJJ wrote:

Great Read Rob....

Apart from the Financial rewards of becoming a famous poker player (as would would have taken down some serious tournaments) would you like the recognition the some of the top players get from Joe Public or would you like to keep your anaminity from Joe Public? In other words, Would you like to become a household name in the poker world?

i quite like the recognition i think, its quite cool in fact just being relatively well known now in irish poker cirles.
i often used to think reading daniel negreanus blog and seeing the celebrity lifestyle he leads, that its sounds kinda fun........

Norwich Fan Rob

woohoo im back up to date !!, glad people seem to be finding it interesting so far.

delanec8

Great read so far.

Just a couple of questions.

How many hours do you average a week since going pro?

Was the transition from SnGs to cash difficult to make?

I have pretty similar stats to yours on sharkscope(delahnty on Pacific) and am contemplating making a move towards cash games. Do you think a complete switch would be a better idea than just playing the odd cash game session from time to time?

At what cash game stakes do you feel you would have to be a consistent winner at to make a similar/better hourly rate than a 20% ROI $200-$500 SnG player, negating multi tabling?

What level did you start at when you switched? Did you feel out of your depth at first?

Have you noticed any major difference in variance between cash and SnGs?

Did you read any books before making the switch or was it simply reading forums and blogs that helped you become a winning cash game player?

Love reading these "in the wells". Gets me motivated to play more.

Silver-Tiger

Hi Rob
Great Read,

Its been nearly year since we both sat down at the table in the 2nd ever gjp €250 game,
In that game in level 1 Bob Batersby manager to take all of your stack giving you too horrific beats. it was actually difficult to watch.
We all knew bob was going to turn over a flush and beat your overpair!
You left the table steaming , cursing,throwing your cards away etc...
I'm sure you'll agree it was unlike you!

What im asking is :in the last year you have played and seen so many hands ,if the same incident happened tomorrow would you conduct yourself in a better manner?
IE : do you feel the longer you play poker , the better your table manners become??
Also ive watched a bit of you on tribreca and from what i've seen you are very active in the chat box, are you like this because you play with these guys alot and they are just your buddies , or are you trying to squeez any piece of info outta these guys??

Cheers Rob GL

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

jimbling

Rob, this has been a fantastic read from an interesting/different angle on poker.

Don't have any particular questions that haven't already been put forward, but will try and think of some later...

thanks for the efforts so far

con_leche

Rob,

Nice work on all the replies.

Q.1 What was your best live call/read?

Q.2 Are there any stand out hands you think you played really really well?

Ste05

Great stuff Rob, some really interesting reading there.

I only really have a couple of Questions.

I'm not sure if this has been asked already, but what sites do you play cash on, is it exclusively Tribeca, if so have you ever thought about having a go at the bigger Stars, Party, Full Tilt, UB or Prima games, and if not, why not?

Who would you rate as the best player you've played with on-line. Is there anyone you wouldn't sit down with at the moment.

I know you've only recently started at 20/40 and I'm not sure if you've played on any of the other sites, but have you played with any of better known internet and 2+2 players (such as aba20, bld, h@ll, durrrr, green plastic, prahlad, lodden, etc.) and if so how did you find them.

Thanks and best of luck in 2007.

The Istanbul

Rob

Would be interested in watching some of your play online. What do you play under on-is it NFRRob?

Great read BTW.

Norwich Fan Rob

delanec8 wrote:

Great read so far.

Just a couple of questions.

How many hours do you average a week since going pro?
hard to say, i just play when i feel like it, could do 10 hours 1 day, 3 the next, rarely less than 3 though, often 10 !!, maybe 50 on the week.

Was the transition from SnGs to cash difficult to make?
took a while to consistently win.

I have pretty similar stats to yours on sharkscope(delahnty on Pacific) and am contemplating making a move towards cash games. Do you think a complete switch would be a better idea than just playing the odd cash game session from time to time?
no, i think its not a bad idea to just try the occasional cash sitting at first, my transition was not over night, it gradually evolved as i slowly had more profitable cash sessions, and got more bored with stts as a result.


At what cash game stakes do you feel you would have to be a consistent winner at to make a similar/better hourly rate than a 20% ROI $200-$500 SnG player, negating multi tabling?

probably 5/10


What level did you start at when you switched? Did you feel out of your depth at first?

mainly 5/10, i mean in the past i had played a lot of 1/2 , 2/4 etc, had a good bit of general exp when i started playing cash as my main game, and was ready for 5/10.

Have you noticed any major difference in variance between cash and SnGs?

actually, i think i play a lower variance cash game than most people, im lucky that i never seem to have a hugely bad river, my worst ever day is only a 4k loss and ive only had one losing month since Oct05, that was Nov 06.

Did you read any books before making the switch or was it simply reading forums and blogs that helped you become a winning cash game player?

only book ive ever really read is super system 2, and its not a huge amount of use to be honest.


Love reading these "in the wells". Gets me motivated to play more.

Norwich Fan Rob

Silver-Tiger wrote:

Hi Rob
Great Read,

Its been nearly year since we both sat down at the table in the 2nd ever gjp €250 game,
In that game in level 1 Bob Batersby manager to take all of your stack giving you too horrific beats. it was actually difficult to watch.
We all knew bob was going to turn over a flush and beat your overpair!
You left the table steaming , cursing,throwing your cards away etc...
I'm sure you'll agree it was unlike you!

What im asking is :in the last year you have played and seen so many hands ,if the same incident happened tomorrow would you conduct yourself in a better manner?
IE : do you feel the longer you play poker , the better your table manners become??
Also ive watched a bit of you on tribreca and from what i've seen you are very active in the chat box, are you like this because you play with these guys alot and they are just your buddies , or are you trying to squeez any piece of info outta these guys??

Cheers Rob GL

yes i do indeed remember the first time i got bobbed !
that was then, and still is to this day, the most annoyed i have ever been at a poker table.
the play for rediculous, but i did totally lose the read, i dont think i said much, but i remember firing my cards at the general direction of the table and storming out, i felt bad about that afterwards, i drove home at a rediculous speed and donked off about $700 that night, if i recall, i may even have been slightly more.

There is no way i would react like that now, whilst still extremely competitive, i am slightly more offay with ettiquete , and general a happier person as a result of all that has happened.

There is a lot of banter in the chat, on 20/40 i find, lots of railers also, and i always like to have my say, if i feel something is to be said, that applies to most things, i know some of them to play with, they sometimes try to wind me up a bit, im still quite new on that scene.

i have tonnes of friends in general in poker, who i would chat to quite a lot.

Lloyd, that was a huge breakthrough tourney for u, and like me, u are competitive and passionate about the game, sometimes an overflow of emotion is inevitable, i dont think anyone thought too much about it, i do think with time and experience, this tends to come under control.

Norwich Fan Rob

con_leche wrote:

Rob,

Nice work on all the replies.

Q.1 What was your best live call/read?
tricky one, made a call with AJ on a J high board for all my stack once, when i was really only beating a bluff, it was a big pot in the 500 game in the fitz ive mentioned before, that i went on to split, that was the first time i ever met Oberon, lol, easy call if i had known him better !!
made a fairly good call a few people commented on with 77 on a board with 4 overcards a while ago in a side game at the last irish open also.
those 2 spring to mind, im sure there are others i cant think of.

Q.2 Are there any stand out hands you think you played really really well?

im usually quite good at getting my big hands paid in general, and sizing my river bets to get the optimum based on what my opponent has, i think that is one of my strenghts, cant think of any specific hands.

Norwich Fan Rob

Ste05 wrote:

Great stuff Rob, some really interesting reading there.

I only really have a couple of Questions.

I'm not sure if this has been asked already, but what sites do you play cash on, is it exclusively Tribeca, if so have you ever thought about having a go at the bigger Stars, Party, Full Tilt, UB or Prima games, and if not, why not?

play almost all my cash on tribeca and new betfair.
the full tilt game is too big, i believe stars to be quite tough, im doing fine where i am, dont see the need to change.

Who would you rate as the best player you've played with on-line. Is there anyone you wouldn't sit down with at the moment.

been thinking about this for a while, cant come up with a name, will think about it some more.

I know you've only recently started at 20/40 and I'm not sure if you've played on any of the other sites, but have you played with any of better known internet and 2+2 players (such as aba20, bld, h@ll, durrrr, green plastic, prahlad, lodden, etc.) and if so how did you find them.

not really know, theres plenty of fish out there to play, no point seeking out the big winners. Its like they say, u could be the 9th best poker player in the world, but if everytime u sit down to play with the top 8, u will go broke !


Thanks and best of luck in 2007.

BigCityBanker

Q.1 What was your best live call/read?

Oberon, lol, easy call if i had known him better !!

Ive had a little giggle, as Im sure will others.